Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1887-05-14

always does toward sunset Indeed, all that
remained of il were few strictly local and
miniature whirlwinds which would suddenly
spring up on the road itself, and twist and
twirl fiercely round, raising mighty column
Of dust fifty feet or more into the air, where
ii hung long after the cause Of it passed, and
then slowly dissolved as its particles hoated
to the earth
Coming along the road, in the immediate
track OF one of these desultory and inexplic-
able whirwinds was a man ON horseback.
The man looked limp and dirty, and the
horse limper and dirtier. The hot wind had
taken all the bones out of them, as the Kaffirs
say, which was not very much to be wondered
nt, seeing that they had been journeying
through it for the last four hours, without
off saddIing. Suddenly the whirlwind, which
had been travelling along pretty smartly,
halted, and the dust, after turning round
few times in the air like dying top, slowly
began To dissolve in the accustomed fashion.
The man on the horse halted, too, and con-
templated it in an absent kind of way.
SITS Just like a mans life, +" he said aloud to
his horse, "coining from nobody knows where,
nobody knows why, and making little
column Of dust ON the worlds highway, and
then passing away and leaving the dust to
fall TO the ground again, and be trodden
under foot and forgotten
The speaker a stout, well set up, rather ugly
man, apparently on the wrong side of 30, with
pleasant blue eyes and a reddish, peaked
beard, laughed little at his own sententious
reflection and then gave his jaded horse
tap with the sjambock in his hand.
"Come on, Blesbok," he said, "or we shall
never get to old Croft's place tonight. BY
Jove! l believe that must be tho turn"
and he pointed with his whip to little rutty
track that turned from the Wakkerstroom
main road and stretched away toward a
curious, isolated hill with large fiat top that
rose out of the rolling plain some four miles
TO the right. "The old Boer said the second
turn" he went on, still talking to himself,
"but perhaps he lied. l am told that
some Of them think it good joke to send
an Englishman a few miles wrong. Let's
see, they said the place was under the lee Of
table topped hill, about half an hours ride
from the main road, and that is a table
topped hill, so think will try it, Come on,
Biesbol,p and he put the tired nag into
a sort of "tripple," or ambling canter, much
affected by South African horses
"I.ife is a queer thing" reflected Capt.
John Mel to himself as he slowly cantered
"a, about to begin the world again as
assistant to an old Transvaal farmer. 1t is a
pretty end to all ones ambitions, and to four
teen years. work in the army; but it is what
it has to come to, my boy, so you had better
make the best of it,"
Just then his cogitations were interrupted
for ON the farther side of gentle slope there
suddenly appeared an extraordinary sight
Over the crest of the rise of land, now some
four or five hundred yards away, pony with
a lady ON its back came wildly galloping,
and after it, with wings spread and out
stretched neck, a huge cock ostrich was
speeding along, covering twelve or fifteen
feet ut every stride OF its long legs. The pony
was still twenty yards ahead of the bird, and
coming toward John rapidly, but strive as it
would it could not distance the swiftest thing
on all the earth. Five seconds passed; the
great bird was close alongside now. Ahl
and John Mel turned sick and shut his eyes
as ho rode, for he saw the ostrich's thick leg
fly high into the air and then sweep down
like loaded bludgeon.
Thud! II had missed the lady and struck
her horse upon the spine, behind the saddle,
for the moment completely paralyzing it, so
that it fell all OF a heap on TO the veldt. In a
moment the girl on its back was up and off
toward him, and after her came the ostrich.
Up went the great leg again. but before it
came crashing on to her shoulders she had
flung herself face downward on the grass.
In an instant the huge bird was on top of
her, kicking at her, rolling over her and
crushing tho very life outaof her. 1t was at
this juncture that John Mel arrived upon the
scene. The moment the ostrich saw him he
gave up his attacks upon the lady ON the
ground and began TO waltz toward him with
pompons sort of step that these birds some
times assume before they give battle. Now,
Capt. Mel was unaccustomed to the ways OF